A MONKEY'S FEET

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 52, Issue 207, 14 June 1932, Page 8

A MONKEY'S FEET

ARGUMENT IN ENGLAND. SATISFYING THE CUSTOMS. Arguments over monkeys, almost. Darwinian in their intensity, have lately been held in England. Strangely enough it is the animal's feet and not its tail that is in question.. Three official viewpoints oil the subject have been put forward, as follows: —■ The Southern Railway: A monkey has four feet. The Folkestone Customs: A monkey has only two feet. The Board of Customs, in London: A monkey has no feet at all. It need hardly be said that it is a financial issue that has stimulated such diversity of opinoin. It is a complicated story; and the end is not yet. It all began with the arrival of six live monkeys at Folkestone Harbour. Acting on behalfi of the consignees, the railway company responsible for their transfer from ship to rail took up the attitude that monkeys were quadrupeds—from rabbits to "elephants —being exempt from duty, there was nothing to pay for the privilege of landing. The Customs officers replied, in effect "Oh, no; monkeys are bipeds, and are thereby excluded from the exemption clause—lo per cent, of their value, please." A monkey, they asserted, had two hands and two feet, therefore it was a biped. "But," the railway representative urged, "the monkey's means of locomotion is on all fours, so it must be a quadruped." In the absence of agreement the matter was referred to the Board of Customs. \ The board, which really does seem to give value for money, supplied a magnificent answer. A monkey Avas a "quadrumanous mammal," a creature with four hands and no feet, so it could not be a quadruped., and the duty must be paid. It is not known on what authority, beyond its own, the board bases this pronouncement. But, meanwhile, the correspondence continues.